The latest edition of the “Twitter Files” concerns former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and an attempt made by Twitter two years ago to silence him.
1. Why did Twitter censor Tucker Carlson? Better yet, who helped Twitter do that? #TuckerTwitterFiles pic.twitter.com/b5WGinZA4V
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
At issue is a column he published for Fox News on June 23rd, 2021 titled, “The COVID vaccine is dangerous for kids, Big Tech doesn’t want you to know that.”
Carlson based his thesis on then-new guidance from the World Health Organization stating that the COVID vaccine was not recommended for little children.
He also based it on several examples of COVID policy critics being censored for simply sharing the WHO’s then-new guidance to social media.
“Facebook has just censored a woman called Michelle Coriaty-Herbst for sharing the WHO’s bulletin on vaccines word-for-word. She just posted it. Facebook deleted it. ‘Your comment goes against our community standards on spam,’ Facebook wrote,” Carlson’s piece read.
“So, this is Silicon Valley’s new policy: everything about vaccines is good. Period. You are not allowed to suggest otherwise. No matter what data you might have. No matter what data you might have, no matter what a health organization might tell you,” the piece continues.
But despite the column being based on valid science, it was censored by Twitter, according to journalist Paul D. Thacker, who released the latest edition of the “Twitter Files” on Thursday.
The censoring began on June. 24th, 2021, when a Twitter employee emailed her colleagues asking if the op-ed should be flagged for COVID so-called “misinformation.”
2. While reading an endless sea of #TwitterFiles, one request to censor alleged “Covid misinformation” stood out: Tucker Carlson.
Tucker is now in the news after Fox announced his departure.
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
3. A Twitter employee emailed colleagues in June 2021 to inquire if a Tucker Carlson op-ed for @FoxNewsOpinion should be flagged for COVID-19 “misinformation.” pic.twitter.com/2mBIBSA5bJ
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
4. Twitter then punished Tucker Carlson for this op-ed.
Tucker actually cited the World Health Organisation’s own website which stated that the WHO was NOT recommending children get the COVID vax. pic.twitter.com/BKnMnyqbPV— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
5. When I looked back at the WHO website, I found they stealth edited their page to remove this passage stating they did not recommend kids get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/hyf7X0gcRc
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
A fellow, presumably higher-level Twitter employee responded hours later by saying the social media platform would begin “labeling any Tweets linking to the article.”
Another Twitter employee responded by recommending that they also let Twitter’s top executives, including its general counsel, know about the otherwise innocuous article from Carlson.
Yet another employee, meanwhile, offered up several methods by which Twitter could reduce the column’s reach without reportedly directly censoring Fox News.
6. After Twitter began reviewing Tucker’s op-ed for alleged COVID-19 misinformation, an employee emailed that they would take action by “labelling any tweets linking the article.” #TwitterFiles pic.twitter.com/SXMkvnqjjq
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
7. Twitter officials also discussed looping in top Twitter execs, such as the general counsel, due to the “political risks” associated with such actions.
Yoel Roth agreed with this approach to “escalate.” pic.twitter.com/wIbE32k3xo
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
8. One employee chimed in to explain various options Twitter could take that would affect the op-eds reach, without directly censoring Fox. There were various choices. pic.twitter.com/N1onXc1ylE
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
“Tucker Carlson would have never known this happened, but when Twitter held a meet and greet months, later, they wrote of Tucker’s producer, ‘[I]t was pretty apparent from the get-go we understood the very different goals we have at work,'” according to Thacker.
It’s not clear what that means …
“BTW, the Twitter official who first brought Tucker’s article to attention came to Twitter from the office of Senator Chuck Schumer, a frequent Tucker critic,” the journalist adds.
That should come as no shocker.
View the rest of the latest “Twitter Files” entry below:
9. Tucker Carlson would have never known this happened, but when Twitter held a meet and greet months, later, they wrote of Tucker’s producer, “[I]t was pretty apparent from the get-go we understood the very different goals we have at work.” pic.twitter.com/Uop2l8T66G
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
10. BTW, the Twitter official who first brought Tucker’s article to attention came to Twitter from the office of Senator Chuck Schumer, a frequent Tucker critic. pic.twitter.com/A6SEJ8L6j0
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
11. Much thanks to @TexasLindsay_ who helped collect and organise #TwitterFiles. I love San Francisco, but we read and read, until our eyes bled.
More #TwitterFiles to come! pic.twitter.com/KaeGBIDDcu
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
12. Read more on Twitter’s censoring of Tucker Carlson at @DisInfoChron: “WHO Censored Itself on Vaccines to Help Twitter Censor Tucker Carlson” https://t.co/YMhhEa2Pba Bird factory secretly clipped Tucker’s wings pic.twitter.com/cebTyjfRg9
— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) April 27, 2023
The latter tweets link to a Substack article in which Thacker goes into more detail, though unfortunately, the piece is behind a paywall.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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